3.2 Royal Income

Sources of Royal Income

• Land

• Taxation

• Customs

• Feudal Dues

• Pensions

• Fines

• Loans

Required a wide network of officials & administrators

Essential to providing effective gov & securing King’s position

Routine Expenditure

Maintenance of the King, his family & royal household

Expenditure on lavish clothes & food was necessary to meet expectations → Crucial to maintain authority at home & respect abroad

Ex. Cade’s Rebellion 1450 → Main criticism was that the King was in such debt that he couldn’t pay for food or drink

Regular defence costs (protection of Scottish & Welsh borders & overseas security)

Administration, costs of staff in key gov departments → Exchequer, Chamber, funds for calling Parliament, running law courts

Exceptional Expenditure

Key ceremonial costs, coronations, baptisms, weddings etc

Exceptional defence costs

• Money for an invasion

• Repel attacks on English territories in France

Became a major outlay & contributed substantially to downfall of Henry VI’s reign

Income

Decline in traditional Crown income due to fall in tax revenue from the wool trade

Under Lancastrian Kings, this became problematic due to high defence costs

• Henry IV - Rebellions in Wales & Scotland

• Henry V - Expensive campaign in France

  • Died heavily in debt Ex. His jewellery & ships were sold to pay creditors

• Henry VI - Acquiring & maintaining overseas conquests

  • 1433 accumulated debts of Henry V & VI = £225,000 → By 1450 = £372,000

  • Provoked strong pubic criticism Cade’s Rebellion

• Edward IV

  • Priority to regain financial solvency

  • Increased efficiency of Crown Lands & improved relations w/ key creditors

  • Range of unpopular measures = forced loans & benevolence to pay for 1474 invasion

  • Dubious legality, causing considerable criticism from contemporaries

  • Treaty of Picquiny gave pension of £10,000

  • Improved revenues from customs & land and Treaty meant Edward died solvent in 1483

• Henry VII -

  • Built on Yorkist financial stability

  • Henry increased annual royal income by 40% from Edward IV

Land

Patronage crucially demonstrated royal power

All land belonged to the King, who could grant it. In return, individuals were expected to be loyal = the basis of Feudal System

Important to maintain stability by recognising hereditary claims of noble families

Ex. 1399 Richard II disinherited Henry Bolingbroke, and in response, Henry overthrew him → potentially catastrophic

Kings didn’t always have substantial amounts of land to distribute → Key attraction of the Hundred Years War

Land → Forfeiture

Acts of Attainder

When a lord was found guilty of treason, he was liable to be executed AND give up his lands to the Crown

During WoR, the Crown periodically gained considerable estates, but these were typically used to reward supporters and didn’t financially benefit the Crown in the long term.

Ex:

Edward IV’s brothers profited from death of Warwick 1471 Richard, Duke of Gloucester profited when George, Duke of Clarence was found guilty of treason in 1478

Acts of Attainder were passed against those who committed treason, and meant land was lost to that family permanently, unless it was repealed.

Ex. Henry VII dated his reign to the day before the Battle of Bosworth 1485. Supporters of Richard’s could be classed as traitors & have their lands taken by the Crown

Limitation: disinherited heirs had little to lose & much to gain from rebellion

The condemned’s heirs could eventually regain their lands through shows of loyalty & payments to the Crown → Ex. Henry Hotspur’s grandson did between 1416-1440

Royal Demesne

Granting away Crown lands

Used when forfeited land wasn’t available and Kings ahd to reward supporters from limited resources.

Considerable topic of tension as the King’s income was partially dependent on crown lands

→ Particularly under Henry VI who was vulnerable to exploitation

Duchy of Lancaster under Henry IV

Until 1399, Crown lands supported members of royal family, rather than substantially contributing to national finances

Change → Henry IV

Henry divided his position as King from Duke

Ex. Charter of 1399 states Duchy would continue to be treated in the same way as before he was King

Retained very substantial lands. Beneficial as a source of private income & loyal retinue

(Duchy was so valuable it required its own administrative council.) Average annual income of £11,000

→ Duchy contributed £1,120 pa to gov finances

Indicates insecurity by ensuring that if he lost the throne, his descendants would maintain their Lancastrian inheritance

Henry increased his popularity by telling parliament he would live of his own, seeking taxation only in times of war. (good comparison after Richard II)

Personal wealth of Lanc Kings + weak political position as usurper = Parliament less forthcoming for taxation

Later requests for taxation were met w/ Parliament demanding King improve the profitability of Crown lands → Challenging due to Black Death outbreaks, leaving major shortages in agricultural workers & higher wages

Private ownership of Duchy made it challenging to seem objective & fulfil expectation of arbitrating disputes as head of judicial system while he had his own vested interest

Duchy of Lancaster under Henry V

Henry V confirmed father’s charter that Duchy should be seen as personal property, not a Crown estate

BUT made practical changes, closely linking Duchy to royal finances

• Placed private administrative council under supervision of Crown officials

• Sought to increase profitiability of farming the estate

  • SUCCESSFUL!

Annual revenue increased to £13,000

Higher proportion (£4,000 pa) supported gov finances

More confident in his position as King so maintained loyalty of his father’s retunue AND included new men, broadening scope for patronage

Allowed him to extend his influence & gain new loyal followers who didn’t distinguish between role as Duke & King

Duchy of Lancaster under Henry VI

Significant reduction in annual gov income 1433 annual income £4,953 (only £2,500 profit)

1. Duchy revenues suffered from lack of personal leadership Little close supervision → less productive → corruption

2. Marriage of Henry V & Catherine of Valois

• Treaty of Troyes agreed Catherine would recieve annual income of 20,000 crowns

• Partly funded by Duchy Lands

• Continued until her death in 1437

3. Revenues were diverted to pet projects (Eton College & King’s College, Cambridge)

4. Financial difficulties were substantially worsened by demands of Hundred Years War

Power vacuum created by his personal inadequacies required lords to self-regulate & seek the common good. Lack of moderating & disciplining influence DIDN’T WORK

Areas w/ substantial Duchy lands often saw conflict . Ex. East Anglica - duke of Norfolk vs duke of Suffolk

Duchy of Lancaster AFTER 1461

Duchy was held separately from other royal possessions but was still forfeit to the Crown → Held by Kings of England from then on

Edward IV improved management of royal estates & size of their returns.

Income from all Crown lands = £10,000 pa in late 1470s & early 1480s

This became less important after 1475 Treaty of Picquiny which provided a substantial annual pension

Henry VII’s drive for increased financial efficiency was much more effective

Patronage & Resumption

Resumption = Act of Parliament which removed land from a Lord, taking it back into Crown ownership

Ex. 1404 Parliament petitioned Henry IV to resume all crown lands granted away since 1367

Henry V was the most able and willing to grant patronage thanks to his luxury of newly conquered French lands

Under Henry VI, pressure on royal estates grew as defeats grew in France. Made worse by weak mental state → Gave away substantial amounts of land

Early 1450s Parliament curbed problematic generosity w/ Acts of Resumption - significant limitation on King’s power & KEY TURNING POINT in Crown Finance

→ Neither Yorkists nor Tudors endangered their power w/ high levels of generosity

1461 Edward IV ascended the throne & passed an Act of Reumption, gaining him many land granted by Henry VI

→ Substantially increased Crown finance, alongside Edward’s personal wealth (Duchy of York & Earldom of March) → Increase in income from new lands £30,000

Max of £10,000 pa

Henry VII & acts of Resumption

Henry VII began his reign w/ an Act of Resumption, but it was less wide-ranging than Edward’s (Yorkist Kings hadn’t been as generous w/ patronage as Henry VI)

Max of £42,000 pa → Total income £100,000 + p.a

Had a very small royal family to support. Elizabeth of York was given land worth only 2/3 of that given to Elizabeth Woodville. Henry also kept revenues from his younger son’s land & reabsorbed Arthur’s revenues after his death

• Undoubtedly political motivations

  Henry gained & maintained power due to ending civil war & problems of ‘over-mighty subjects’

• Important for the King to remain financially solvent to not be beholden to his leading nobles

Custom Duties under Lancastrians

Fees levied on imported & exported goods

Shift over 14th & 15th centuries to making custom duties a source of regular income, rather than an exceptional boon granted by parliament for emergencies

Single largest payment to coffers & long-standing royal prerogative

1. Ancient Custom

   6s 8d charged on each sack of wool

2. From 1353, a ‘subsidy’ was added, a changing amount set by Parliament & charged on wool imports

15th century = reduction on income from wool

Raw wool exports fell from 21,000 sacks (1390) → 8,500 sacks (1510) - Partly due to a major trade recession 1440-80

Gov also lost income: English wool centres reduced exports of raw product & increased manufacturing cloth (less taxed)

Challenge of Piracy in 1440s & 1450s disrupted trade & collection of customs.

Total annual revenue of Crown fell from £90,000 → £24,000 under Henry VI = Financial Crisis

Grew dependence on loans (notably Cardinal Henry Beaufort & Duke of York) increasing the sense that ‘over-mighty subjects’ could seek to control the King.

Custom Duties under Edward IV

Edward IV inherited problem,

1460s royal annual income from customs didn’t increase

Introduced 2 key changes in his 2nd reign:

1. Subsidy became a fixed amount, reducing his dependence on parliament

   Standardisation of custom duties reflected growing acceptance that the monarch couldn’t finance gov policies only through personal wealth

   Tacit acknowledgement that allowing nobility to bankroll gov was unwise

2. Negotiation a number of commercial treaties w/ neighbouring countries in 1470s

   Via diplomacy, improved relations, notably with France → improved trade → grew royal revenue

Feudal Rights

Each tenant held the property in service to their Lord & had responsibilities to him

By late 14th century, serfdom was greatly in decline & most land was held by free tenants, beholden by forms of duty:

1. Personal service

   Serving wine at dinner to holding banner in battle

2. Payment of rent

   Under trad. system, it was paid in kind (service or produce) From 1300, it was paid in cash

3. Military service

   Tenant-in-Chiefs were obliged to provide knights or personnel to serve the King. It declined in early 14th century & replaced by indentures & commissions. Troops were found within a lord’s affinity but also included mercenaries.

   → change caused by greater manpower needed to support Kings during Hundred Years War

Shift to Bastard Feudalism blamed for changing loyalties & disorder. Key factor likely wasn’t lack of hereditary ties, but cash payments enabling larger affinities & more ‘over-mighty subjects’

Unrest & decline in royal control increased. War in France meant a large proportion of pop had direct fighting experience, making them more dangerous for rebellion…

Ex. Jack Cade’s Rebellion 1450 - Insurgents were joined by humiliated returning soldiers

Feudal Rights as Income

1. King gained a fee when his tenant’s eldest daughter married

2. As Monarch, the King had greater feudal rights than any Lord over his tenants

   → Ex. Right to the Wardship of Idiots

   The King too profits of all lands held by those suffering from a permanent mental disability, less than their living costs

3. Monarchs could request feudal aids for knighting his eldest son & the marriage of his eldest daughter w/ consent of parliament.

   Ex. Henry VII 1504

   Asked parliament for customary fees for marriage of Princess Margaret & knighting Prince Arthur

   Opposed as Arthur had been knighted 5 years earlier & was already dead. Margaret had married the year before

All Kings took advantage of aspects of royal prerogative

Ex. Henry VI’s minority gov launched investigations to ensure correct payment of feudal dues 1427

Edward IV introduced efficient management system administered by the Chamber, not Exchequer, which Henry VII improved on again

BUT were less significant than custom duties or direct tax. → 1433 revenue of feudal due = 7% of total income

Profits of Justice

To maintain the King’s income, those who broke the law concerning payments to the Crown needed to be challenged legally.
→ The court of the Exchequer helped ensure royal financial solvency

Other courts were important sources of royal income, as many people found guilty were punished by a fine.

• In royal courts, fines went to the King’s coffers

Edward IV & Henry VII created a ‘new monarchy’, substantially altering the role of King, and how politics & finances were managed.

Edward focused on use of new loans & taxation

Henry VII saw birth of a new form of government, in terms of financial management

• Bonds were payments to the Crown by nobility for privileges or as fines

• Henry increased their use considerably → ½ peerage was obliged to pay money as security for their good behaviour

• A noble could be made to pay an annual sum in lieu of the whole amount

  • Provided large addition to royal finances

  • Effectively ensured loyalty to the King

• Demands were of dubious legality by allowing punishment of potential offences, not actual ones

• Unpopular Ex. Edmund Dudley was swiftly tried & killed for his involvement days after King’s death.

Taxation - Problems

Had the greatest impact on a monarch’s expression of political power & was most controversial method

Had to be agreed by parliament (both houses), usually to meet defence costs, most frequently war in France

Most usual response was granting tenths & fifteenths Assessed counties & towns so referred to a fixed sum which was charged to each community

Number of issues so had a reduced use to monarchy

1. Charging a county or town w/ fixed levy made the system inflexible

   Ex. outbreaks of Black Death from 1347 reduced population, making the burden much heavier

2. Tax evasion was highly likely → Parliament ofte complained that expected sums weren’t received

3. A prominent local man was placed in charge of collecting taxes, & theoretically liable to make the difference to the Crown if he didn’t collect enough

The gap between anticipated and actual income meant the King couldn’t raise enough money to support policy

→ Highly problematic militarily, politically and could weaken his reputation abroad.

Henry V, who was militarily highly successful, had little difficulty obtaining grants

BUT Parliament of Nov 1450, held after loss of Normandy, was highly critical of Henry VI’s gov, particularly Edmund Beaufort, duke of Somerset who led campaign in France.

→ When war was going badly, taxes were more resented & harder to collect, hindering the war effort (VICIOUS CIRCLE)

Ex. Tenths & Fifteenths granted in 1449 → By 1453, only ¾ of total had reached the Crown

Alternative forms of Taxation

Henry VI - reflected growing cost of maintaining control in France

1428 - tax imposed on parishes 1431 - tax on land

Neither was renewed, suggesting lack of success

Attempted introduction of income tax in 1435, described as a ‘subsidy’

Edward IV

Used income tax 1472-73 to raise money for a planned invasion of France

→ Viewed suspiciously & it only gathered half of the anticipated £60,000

After 1475, Edward IV, Richard III & Henry VII benefited from the need to spend less on war

Gaining consent for taxation became less of a political issue

Role of the Exchequer

Exchequer = bureaucratic institution which dealt w/ matters of royal finance. Primarily received, stored & paid money on the Crown’s behalf

Until 14th century, officials of the Exchequer were clergy, but this tradition decreased.

Local officers (sherrifs) collected tax & other revenue from localities & brought it to the Lower Exchequer. In return, they were given a marked piece of wood, a tally, which was taken & checked at the Upper Exchequer

The bureaucratic hierarchy was complex & slow to process & audit money, but focused on preventing fraud so functioned in an honest manner.

Edward IV developed an alternative financial department, under the Chamber…

Role of the King’s Chamber

Private area, reflecting personal nature of Kingship. Effectively became a gov department

Chamber’s importance increased, gaining its own income & permanent staff

Financial Role = arranged spending of royal income, as directed by the King

Edward IV altered the roles of the Exchequer & Chamber, making the latter the key financial department

• Circumvented slow bureaucracy of Exchequer

• Controlled royal income & expenditure

• Increased flexibility, enhancing Edward’s financial position

• Enabled him to restore Crown finances in second reign

Meant that the Monarch was solvent by 1480s

Henry VII used Chamber finance & its greater control to increase crown income

→ Helped gain his rep as an intelligent financial tactian